Leap Year
by AAB
Summary: During Leap Year, on February 29th, women are allowed (or supposed) to propose to their loved ones. Is Mac brave enough to do that? One-shot


_Not min, Bellisario's ****_

 _ **Leap year  
**_

 _February 15_ _th_ _  
JAG office, Library  
_ "Good morning, Ma'am, how was your Valentine's Day?"  
"It was fine." Mac didn't feel like elaborating but she knew she would be in for some grilling. Just 'fine' was not an answer Harriet would be satisfied with.  
And indeed. "Did the Commander give you something?" the other woman pried further.  
Mac didn't know what to say. Yes, she had received a nice gift from Harm but nothing like a lover's. She shrugged.  
"Flowers and a large box of chocolates," she said. That was true. Flowers and chocolate. But it had been a mixed bouquet and not roses. And a normal square box of chocolates and not a heart-shaped one  
Harriet sensed her disappointment.  
"Ma'am, do you know it's a leap year?"  
Ma frowned, not getting what her friend was hinting at.  
"Yes, but why …?"  
"In a leap year, well at the 29th of February, women are allowed, supposedly to propose to men instead of men to women."  
"Okay?" Mac still didn't get it.  
"If he doesn't make a move, why don't you?"  
"I can't. I don't even know whether he has any feelings for me."  
"Yes, you can. You don't know how he looks at you when you're not paying attention. That man is head over heels with you."  
Mac shook her head. She didn't want to go down this road.  
"Stop it, Harriet. Since you are married happily, you want to have everyone have the same. Harm and I are just good friends and making more out of it is just wishful thinking."  
"But Ma'am …"  
"Stop it, Harriet. Don't make me make it an order."

Little did they know Harm was standing only feet away, behind a bookshelf. He wasn't exactly eavesdropping but he couldn't help hearing every word. His felt his heart jump up and at the same time he could kick his own ass. He pulled a face, remembering how long he had stood there, a bouquet of red roses in his hands, only to decide for a mixed bouquet and how long he had hesitated about the chocolate, only to take the safe way out, with a 'normal' one.  
He hadn't wanted to ruin his new-found friendship with her and had dismissed all the little signs he thought he had noticed as wishful thinking. How wrong had he been! But now!  
Now he had 'only' to figure out a way to convince Mac to ask him, without giving away he eavesdropped, off course. Or maybe even better, find the courage to ask her himself, he thought with a wry smile.  
Too bad Valentine's Day was just over. Knowing what he knew now, he would have given her something that mirrored his feelings more. Getting their friendship back had been hard work and he hadn't wanted to risk it by giving her roses or something other romantic item.  
Now he had only two weeks left.

An hour later it turned out he didn't even have those two weeks. Instead he and Bud Roberts were to fly to down under, to Australia to help in the investigation of a deserter and a twenty-eight year old murder. He had barely time to tell Mac and to go home and pack before catching his flight.  
Inside her office Mac sat, head in her hands.

 _Two weeks later  
Mac's apartment  
_At home Mac was preparing for his arrival. Setting the table and, that is, and preparing a salad. In the oven a nice pasta dish simmered. She felt a bit down. During the previous weeks Harriet's words had haunted her. Leap year, women propose. It had fuelled her imagination, her hopes and her dreams but at the same time she knew she could not do it. She would not risk their friendship. Not when they just had it back. Period! But why did that make her so sad?  
When there was the expected knock on the door Mac let a smile appear on her face and went to answer.  
The moment Harm entered her smile became a lot more real and brighter. He was carrying a large bouquet of red tulips and with a bow he presented it to her.  
"Why, thank you! To what do I owe this honour?"  
He shrugged. "Just saw them and liked them and thought you would like them, too."  
To hide her confusion Mac pretended to sniff the vague fresh sent.  
"Funny how such a bright red flower has such a black heart," she remarked. Great observation, MacKenzie, she berated herself, but at least it prevented an awkward silence.  
"Yes," Harm agreed.  
There was something in his voice that made Mac's head snap up but his face showed nothing as he gestured her to go and put the flowers into a vase.  
When Mac came back, the tulips in the most beautiful vase she owned, she placed them on the place of honour on the coffee table.  
"They are beautiful. Harm, thank you very much," she sighed, then surprised them both by standing on het tiptoes and give him a peck on the cheek.  
For a moment they could only stare at each other but before the situation could became to awkward, they were saved by the bell. The alarm of the oven, that is.  
"Dinner is ready," Mac announced. "Go sit."

Dinner was amiable and cheerful, broaching all kinds of subjects. After that he helped her to bring the dishes to the kitchen, while she made coffee.  
The rest of the evening was spent watching a movie.  
When it was over Mac rose to bring the cups to the kitchen and Harm started to fumble with the radio. When she came back he'd just found some decent music, an old Carpenter song.

 _Day after day I must face a world of strangers  
Where I don't belong, I'm not that strong  
It's nice to know that there's someone I can turn to  
Who will always care, you're always there  
_  
Harm reached out with his hand.  
"Dance with me?" he requested.  
Mutely Mac did as he asked. It felt so good to be in his arms she had to keep herself from holding on too tightly. She rested her head against his chest and felt his heartbeat against her cheek and the rise and fall of his chest with his every breath. The clock chimed a quarter till twelve. Only fifteen minutes left of February 29th.  
At the third chorus Harm softly sang along with the music. His breath fanned her hair.

 _"When there's no getting over that rainbow  
When my smallest of dreams won't come true  
I can take all the madness the world has to give_  
 _But I won't last a day without you."  
_  
Those words hit Mac. Hard. Before she realised it, she asked "Do you mean it?"  
"What?"  
"That you wouldn't last a day without me?"  
"Yes, without you I don't know how to cope. How to survive." There was not the slightest hesitation in his voice.  
"Then marry me!"  
There, she said it! She could believe she actually said it and she expected nothing more than for him to step back or worse, push her away and say no. Maybe wrapped in some kind and apologizing words but nevertheless it would be a no. So sure she was about what she was going to hear that she missed his "Yes" completely.  
"Sorry, what did you say?"  
"I said yes," Harm repeated.  
"You what?" She couldn't believe her ears.  
"I said yes. You asked me to marry you, I accepted, you won't get rid of me now." The love in his eyes was unmistakable. She reached up to cup his face.  
"You said yes?"  
By now Harm felt he had said it often enough and a bit of action might come in handy to get the message through. He pulled her close and his lips landed on hers, warm and pliable and definitely convincing. When he pulled back she looked up in a daze.  
"Yes, I said yes. Because I love you."

 _Later  
_ "Why didn't you say something?"  
He grew serious.  
"Last year I screwed up so many times. Not being there for you when your dad died, not telling you about my eye surgery, going back flying. Our relation was tense when I came back and then there was Mic, who was clearly very attracted by you. I told myself I should count myself lucky if I would manage to restore our friendship. I worked on that and …"  
"You did, and you did well," Mac interrupted.  
"Anyway, during Thanksgiving dinner at the Roberts' I finally realized 'that thing between us' …" He swallowed. "It hit me how much I loved you, how much I love you," he corrected into the present time.  
Mac remembered how silent, almost subdued he had been during the ride home and rubbed his arm lovingly.  
"But still I didn't dare to dream too much. I figured I still had a lot of work to do. "  
"Why didn't you make a move earlier?"  
Harm grew serious.  
"I screwed up so many times so I thought I needed to show you first." He shrugged helplessly. "You know, I can be rather clumsy when it comes to words. I was terrified to say just the wrong things and chase you away once more or inflict irreparable damage to our friendship.  
Anyway, after Thanksgiving I decided to show you how much you meant to me," he went on. Mac nodded; she recalled all the little attentions he had showered her with.  
"Then, when you seemed to love my Valentine's gift I was mustering the courage to ask you for a date. That was when I heard your conversation with Harriet … and an hour later the Admiral told me I had to go to Australia."  
"Did you know Mic asked me to come to Australia, too? For a holiday?"  
"No." It sounded defensive. "Were you temped?"  
Mac folded her hands around his cheeks and kissed him reassuring.  
"Harm, the only thing which tempted me was the promise of sun and summer beaches. I'm so fed up with the cold. Yes, and the fact you were there, too, and the hope that if we were on a different continent you would make a move."  
Silently he tucked her head under his chin once more and held her tight.  
"What would you have done if I hadn't asked you tonight?" she asked after a few moments. She needed some confirmation he had been prepared to take the first step after all.  
He smiled warmly.  
"I made preparations." He released her, stood and walked over to his jacket to get something out of his pocket. Then he turned towards her again and took a few steps before lowering himself on one knee. Now it was clear what had been in his pocket. Between his fingers he held a warm golden ring, set with an emerald flanked by two smaller diamonds.  
"Sarah, I love you more than anyone on this world. Will you marry me?"  
Mac could only gasp.  
Harm just smiled, giving her time to compose herself.  
"Yes," she breathed, tears brimming. "Yes, yes, yes!"  
He rose and sat himself next to her on the couch, taking her trembling hand. With a bit of effort he slit the ring onto her finger.  
"I love you so much. I hope you don't want a long engagement."  
"No, a few months will be enough. Just enough time to plan the wedding," his beloved assured him, pulling him down to kiss him once more.  
When they came up for air, she had one last question, though.  
"Why didn't you give me something more meaningful with Valentine? I mean, I so hoped for a sign, something telling me you might feel a bit more for me than just friendship."  
Harm caressed her hands.  
"I'm sorry. You have no idea how long I stood with a bouquet red roses in my hands and a heart shaped box of chocolates, only to decide I was too scared to give them to you. Since Thanksgiving I tried to show you how much I feel for you but I wasn't sure … I was so afraid to push you too much."  
"I thought I saw want I wanted to see. I didn't dare to believe …" she sighed, hiding her face into his chest. "I was scared, too, to chase you away when I reacted too eagerly."  
"Today I wanted to bring you roses but seeing those tulips I changed my mind. Do you know why?"  
"No," Mac shook her head surprised and pulled back, to look at him.  
"I did some research lately, after the meaning of flowers. Did you know tulips originate from Turkey?"  
"No, I thought they came from Holland."  
"They were introduced in the Netherlands at the end of the 16th century. They became very popular, so popular the prices became ridiculous. Around 1635 the so called tulip mania broke out. Speculating with tulip bulbs was booming business. At that time you could buy a house for the same amount of money you paid for one tulip bulb. One single tulip bulb might cost more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. When the market collapsed a few years later many lost all they had.  
There is a Turkish legend about the tulip. The Turkish prince Farhad fell in love with a beautiful girl, named Shirin. But then he learned she was killed. He was heartbroken and he threw himself and his horse from a rock. At the spot his blood drenched the earth a flower blossomed, the red tulip. So this red tulip became the symbol of perfect love. The black heart in it is because of passion's fire, burning it from inside."  
During his words Mac's eyes had teared up and Harm tenderly kissed the tears away. She snuggled in again, suddenly feeling how busy the previous week had been. The clock chimed half past twelve.  
"You better go to bed," Harm said softly. "I'll be back tomorrow morning, with breakfast. Okay?"  
"No," Mac declared, seeing his eyes go wide with shock.  
"I mean, you're not going."  
"You want me to stay?" Harm wanted this to be absolutely clear.  
"Yes." She pushed herself in a standing position and then pulled him up, too. "Go get your sea bag."  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
Like she, he made quick work washing and brushing teeth and it wasn't long before they were in bed, Mac with her head on his chest and his arms around her.  
It was the first day of March.  
Or better, it was the first day of the rest of their lives, together.

The end


End file.
